


In His Own Circle

by orphan_account



Series: 200 Park Avenue meets 221B Baker Street [3]
Category: Fantastic Four (Movieverse), Marvel (Movies), Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Anthea is totally a ninja, Crossover, Gen, Mycroft and Phil are not so secret fans of all things sartorial, Post-Reichenbach, and instead I had FEELS all over the place, it was supposed to be snark in a conference room, this didn't turn out how I expected
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-12
Updated: 2012-07-12
Packaged: 2017-11-09 19:54:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/457771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>He does not have friends.</i>
</p><p>  <i>It’s not quite as simple as that, but when one is functionally the British Government (and no, it doesn’t matter how many times he protests that he’s a glorified traffic nanny, a simple civil servant in aid of Queen and Country) there is rarely time for the cultivation and maintenance of personal relationships.</i></p><p>In which the British and American governments are run by competent men in impeccable suits.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In His Own Circle

**Author's Note:**

> In the timeline this story takes place prior to, but in the same 'verse as, That's My Job and Two Blokes in a Bar. In the Sherlock universe it is post-Reichenbach, in Marvel it's after The Avengers. 
> 
> The title is a reference to ACD's The Greek Interpreter. When Watson expresses surprise that all of London is unaware of Mycroft's existence, Holmes assures him: "Oh, he is very well known in his own circle."

He does not have friends.

It’s not quite as simple as that, but when one is functionally the British Government (and no, it doesn’t matter how many times he protests that he’s a glorified traffic nanny, a simple civil servant in aid of Queen and Country) there is rarely time for the cultivation and maintenance of personal relationships.

His assistant would lay down her life for him without reservation or regret.  Despite protests, his brother may finally come around to the idea that perhaps Big Brother is not the greatest villain in his story.  The good doctor is a solid presence, though currently furious, and far more appreciated than he likely realizes.  And Detective Inspector Lestrade…well, things are still new.

But it’s been years of association, and Mycroft Holmes is readily able to admit that Phillip James Coulson is the nearest he’s likely to get to a best friend. 

It began as an unlikely alliance early in their careers.  Coulson was working as a S.H.I.E.L.D. handler on a mission in the Black Country, dismantling a crime ring of former steel mill workers exploited by a young Victor Von Doom (and really, what sort of a name was that for a man who wasn’t destined for a future in supervillainy).  It was Mycroft’s first solo cleanup.  And as little as he enjoys legwork, it was rather brilliant seeing a young Phil singlehandedly dispatching five armed thugs in an impeccably tailored, grey three-piece suit.

“Adrian Jules?”

Coulson had raised a single eyebrow, nodded.  His green eyes swept across Mycroft in an oddly familiar and calculating onceover.  “Gieves & Hawkes?”

Mycroft had actually heard the ampersand.

“Mycroft Holmes.”

“Phillip Coulson.”

It was fate, really.

And now, standing beneath an unfurled umbrella in a country churchyard, Mycroft is unsurprised by the American’s arrival.

Even through several layers of fabric, he can feel reassuring warmth where Phil’s shoulder brushes against his bicep.  Mycroft doesn’t ask about the black sling pressing the other man’s arm firmly against his chest.  He doesn’t ask about the state funeral held in Washington and attended by weeping superheroes.  It’s not the sort of thing they discuss. 

Despite the comfort derived from his arrival, Coulson’s diminutive stature and physical fallibility is a continual surprise to Mycroft.  In video conferences and phone calls the agent is competence personified, larger than life.  A quarter of a century into their acquaintance, that Phil remains precisely six inches shorter than Mycroft seems an impossibility.  By all rights the man should be a giant.

Recent years haven’t been particularly kind.  If he’s honest, they’re both looking a bit worse for wear.  Their hairlines are inches higher than when they met, and their faces show recent and rapid weight loss.

“Leather-handled Fox?” Phil’s eyes flick upwards as he joins Mycroft beneath the umbrella.

“It seemed appropriate for the occasion.”

They both nod, staring at the gold lettering on the headstone.

“No epitaph?”

“His own insistence.  Sherlock was never particularly…sentimental.”

If he was any other man, Phil would’ve snorted.

He wasn’t.

“I’m sorry I missed the service.  Situation in New York.”

“I received your flowers.  Anthea also mentioned a call from Jasper.”

“Still.”

Mycroft hums noncommittally.  “‘Everything tends towards catastrophe and collapse.’”

“You’re too fond of the Bulldog.”

“Sherlock always thought so.  He said I was sentimentalizing statesmen in order to rationalize my ridiculous life choices.”

“And to think, for years he thought your heart was made of stone.”

“Yes, well.  We both know that’s not quite true.”

They stand in silence, long enough for their shoes to grow uncomfortably soggy and for Jasper and Anthea to emerge from their respective town cars on the gravel path.  They huddle beneath Anthea’s umbrella, eyes fixed on their phones.

“I know you want to protect him,” Phil nudges Mycroft’s arm with his shoulder and their eyes finally meet.  “But if anyone realizes—”

“Yes, yes…I know.  It’s an unacceptable risk.”

“There are…I have some very good people in the field who are currently at my disposal.  I’d be happy to have them keep an eye out.  Run interference without him knowing.”

“You think my brother that unobservant?”

“I think my agents are that good.”

The tension finally drains from Mycroft’s shoulders, his grip on the black leather handle of his umbrella faltering momentarily.  His gaze turns to their assistants.

“Jasper looks positively miserable,” the corners of Mycroft’s mouth twitch slightly.  Not a smile, of course, but it was something.

“There’s a reason I usually give him warm weather assignments.”

“I heard he was the one who finally coordinated the move of your asset from India.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“No, of course not.  And you have no idea what Anthea was doing in Karachi.”

“Obviously.”

They begin walking, Phil carefully pacing his steps to keep up with Mycroft’s longer strides.  At the door of Phil’s car they shake hands, grip lingering as they say their goodbyes.

“Mr. Holmes.”

“Agent Coulson.”

“If you need _anything_ …”

“Your sentiment is showing, Phillip.”

“Yes, well.  I know what you like to say, but in times like these caring _is_ an advantage.”

**Author's Note:**

> -Victor Von Doom is the nemesis of the Fantastic Four.  
> -Adrian Jules is a bespoke tailoring company known as "the best worn secret in America."  
> -Gieves & Hawkes is located at №1 Savile Row and are one of the world's oldest continual bespoke tailors. Their suits were a favorite of Winston Churchill.  
> -The umbrellas Mycroft carries on Sherlock are made by the venerable Fox Umbrellas Ltd, although the mentioned model (a Gents Stick with a black leather handle and a tip cup) isn't one he's been shown using.  
> -The situation in New York is a reference to the events of The Avengers. So, I clearly think Coulson isn't dead.  
> -'Bulldog' refers to Churchill's nickname 'the British Bulldog.' Mycroft is quoting from a letter Churchill wrote to his wife during the buildup to the first World War.  
> -Jasper Sitwell is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who worked in surveillance of Bruce Banner (the asset in India), as Coulson's assistant/junior agent during the events of Thor, and as a computer expert on the Helicarrier in The Avengers.  
> -Karachi is the city in Pakistan where Irene Adler was supposedly executed. Anthea's implied presence can be interpreted as you like (but in my head canon she is totally a ninja, so it was likely for reasons of badassery).


End file.
